Soir
by irony-on-high
Summary: Gaara is a creature of the night. Sakura is a sickly child. His bite could save her but at a great cost. Will he save her or will she die? GaaSaku. Rated M for Mature.
1. Soir

**This one is for midnightsun000. She was the magic ninth reviewer on my story Recipe for High School Drama [[fanfiction****.net/s/5021094/1/**** ]] Anyway, please review! **

**Chapter 1: Soir**

Summary: Sakura's been sick since she was very little. She's been around this long for one reason, and now that her reason's gone, what is she to do? And then she meets Gaara, a creature of the night, whose bite can keep her alive but at a great cost.

* * *

A window creaked open and a hand popped out, gripping the sill, as a leg followed. It was late—about eleven-thirty; she was supposed to be sleeping. But her parents had waked her up with their shouts. A head came out next, and the window creaked as the full body was finally resting all its weight on it. Pink hair draped over the shoulders, and the young girl glanced back inside to make sure the giant teddy bear she'd placed under her covers really looked like a person. Actually, it just looked like a giant lump. It didn't matter, though. It would do its job; pretending to be her replacement, for now.

Here came the hard part. The ground was only a couple feet from her window; she was sure she could easily jump down. In theory.

In reality, not so easy. Once more, the girl looked inside. The hallway lights had been turned on—a surefire sign that her parents would be in the kitchen and soon come upstairs to check on her. By then, she had to be gone.

She took a deep breath, and jumped. She landed on her feet, but fell to her knees and elbows, scraping them. She wiped some dirt off her cheek and got up, looking around before running. The park was only a few blocks away; she would go there first. She didn't know what after that.

It was dark and she could barely see the sidewalk, so she tripped a couple of times, but she made it. When she got to the park, breathing heavily, she was a little unsure of what she was doing. Looking around, she noticed there was someone sitting on the swing set. The person had gotten up and was looking her in direction. She gulped and headed over, thinking herself fearless. Upon closer inspection, the boy was actually beautiful and had to be much older. Seventeen or eighteen, she imagined. The moon, bright and lively, shone down upon him with a yellow glow, giving his pale skin an eerie, unnatural looking vibrancy. He had short and messy red hair. Though, she noticed it didn't come close to covering a pink scar on the left side of his forehead.

The boy began to turn and walk away, his feet crunching on the soft woodchips. "Wait!" the twelve year old called to him. He didn't stop walking. She picked up the pace, and reached out to grab his arm. When she did grab his arm though, it was freezing cold, like that of a stone. But she didn't let go, or recoil.

"Jeez, I said wait… don't you listen?" the girl exclaimed, her own spring green eyes on the boy. He was very still. And then, slowly, he turned around to face the little girl. His scarlet eyes fastened themselves to hers. _That's weird_, she thought, _I could have sworn they were light green…_

"You shouldn't be out here."

The boy's voice was low, and velvet smooth. It was alluring, his voice, and she had an odd thought that if he sang she'd fall asleep. The young girl let go of his arm and took a step back.

"Humph!" she huffed in return, crossing her arms. "Neither should you!" she retorted. It was actually the only reply she could think of at the moment. She nibbled on her lip, anxious for his reaction. He didn't reply, just turned and proceeded, once again, to walk away. "My name's Sakura!" she called anyway, perhaps hoping he'd reply. She wanted to hear his voice again. This time, he did.

"Go home, Sakura." Her heart pounded in her chest.

"No!"

Suddenly, someone was behind her, and the seventeen year old boy was out of sight. Her eyes widened with fear, though she'd never admit it, her hands were shaking. Her heart rate increased.

"Do you believe in monsters?" a voice whispered, seemingly right next to her ear. "There's more than just the sweater in your closet and the teddy bear under your bed. _We're not alone."_

"I…" Sakura trailed off, her voice small and her eyes wide.

"Do you believe in vampires…?" The voice chuckled. It was so creepy; Sakura regretted ever talking to this strange boy on the swing. She wanted to turn and face whatever was behind her… now it licked her cheek…No, not licked her cheek… licked the _cut_on her cheek.

She screamed, and closed her eyes as she turned, pushing the strange cold-skinned, redheaded boy away.

"Pervert!" she shrieked, falling over and landing on her butt. She'd gained so much momentum as she turned that she managed to fall over. Still on the ground, she pointed an accusing finger at the boy, who stood above her.

"I can smell it," he whispered. "I can taste it. The cancer."

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump ThumpThumpThumpThumpTHUMP._

Her eyes fluttered. Oh, no. The twelve-year-old took a ragged breath and clutched her heart. She looked up at the boy one final time, her eyes heavy. Last thing she saw before she blacked out was his soft smile. He was handsome to begin with. His smile just made him look better. The only scary part was the fangs.

* * *

**That's all for now folks. Express yourself by reviewing!! The more reviews, the quicker the next chapter goes up! See you next time!**


	2. Persuasive Shadows

**Chapter 2: Persuasive Shadows**

Three years later…

A window creaked open. Slowly and carefully, a head poked out. Pink hair draped over the shoulders as slim hands gripped the window sill to pull the rest of the body out. A knee hitched itself out the window. The other soon followed. Before long, a girl fell to the ground outside her window with a soft thump. She got to her feet immediately, dusting herself off quickly before dashing towards the sidewalk.

"So long, suckers," the pink haired girl whispered to the dark house.

She walked nonchalantly down the street, hands shoved in pockets, and pink hair swinging to and fro behind her shoulders. Sneaking out of the house just kept getting easier. Though… could one really call it 'sneaking' when she did it so much, even her parents were aware? Besides, regardless of whether or not they knew, she got away with it. Hers weren't the kind of parents to check up on her in the middle of the night. Perhaps once upon a time they had been. But that'd stopped when they discovered she wasn't always in bed, and as she got older, her sheets lay cold more often than not. Sakura wasn't very careful about it either. If she didn't make it home by time her parents woke up, she simply would disappear for the day. For the first few years, Sakura's parents had been drastically worried for her, wondering why she would do this to herself and her family. Why she would go out and get drunk and wasted. Wake up at the house of a man she didn't even know. Pierce her ears and nose and other parts. Yup, Sakura had turned into a regular bad girl. And she liked it.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was sitting cross legged on her bed, a tube of clear nail polish carefully resting on the flat part of her heel. She dipped the little brush into the tube, and with practiced precision brushed the polish on her pinky finger. Blond hair cascaded down her shoulders, the ends curling as they splayed across her bedspread. The girl let out a breath, moving on to the next hand and tossing her head to force her bangs out of her eyes. They, naturally, fell back into place.

A sudden tapping at her window stirred her out of her reverie, and Ino looked up, turning her head a fraction of an inch to see the emerald eyes of her best friend. The other teen grinned widely, waving her hand at her friend, her nose pressed up against the glass of the window.

Without a moment's hesitation, the blond haired girl placed the nail polish on her dresser, and wandered over to the window. Sakura's grinned softened a little to a big smile as she watched her friend unlock the window and push the heavy thing up. "Yo!" greeted Sakura, before hoisting herself through the window, and falling into Ino's bedroom.

"I seriously need to get me one of those ladders you've got out there," Sakura continued, standing up and looking around the room. It was the same thing she always said when she ran away to Ino's house, and climbed up the vine covered decorative fence that coincidentally lead to Ino's bedroom window.

Ino sighed, and sat down on her desk chair. Per usual, Sakura made herself at home, turning on the TV, than wandering over to Ino's closet. Ino spun her chair around once, before reaching up and retrieving the nail polish from her dresser to finish the job she'd started, coating the room with the poisonous scent of nail polish. "Won't your parents be worried?" Ino stated, still concentrating on her nails. Sakura, behind her and still trifling through Ino's closet, paused for a split second, then pushed a huge David Bowie tee-shirt out of the way of a skimpy black dress.

"No," Sakura answered cheerfully, holding up the dress, then tossing it aside, and retrieving the David Bowie tee-shirt. "Of course they won't."

Ino blew gently on her nails, before screwing the cap back on the tube of nail polish. She worked the chair around, so it was facing Sakura. Sakura held up the shirt with a big smile. It was way too big for her, and would maybe work as a small dress. Ino got up, and, noticing the window was still open, made her way over to that and pushed the heavy thing down. Of course Ino knew it was safe for Sakura to come over, without worrying about the wrath of her parents. For one thing, Sakura's parents didn't even know Ino existed.

* * *

_Under any other circumstances, the two girls never would have met. And perhaps, if the timing hadn't been so perfect, the drinks hadn't been so strong, and the boys weren't so rough, neither would have ever noticed one and other. _

"_Baby, baby, I-I just—" A pretty blonde haired girl, who was just a little bit too skinny, and more than a little bit too drunk, waved her hands in front of an angry, not to mention muscular, frat boy. A vein popped out of his temple, and to the experienced eye, it was clear he'd also had one beer too many. _

"_Shut the fuck up, you fucking whore," he shouted at the girl, who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, or even a very skanky nineteen year old. She burst into tears, sobbing loudly. Someone shouted, "Will someone shut that bitch up?" Others chortled in their own 'yes' and 'yeah'. The burly boy turned a funny red-purple color and raised a hand, his eyes looking murderously down upon the blond, who'd sunk to the floor. He was about to strike her when something pink and quick splashed something in his face. He blinked, surprised at the sudden wetness on his face._

_Standing between him and the blond girl was a much younger girl with pink hair, who was holding an empty cup. "Asshole!" she shouted at him, then leaned down and gently tugged on the arm of the crying girl behind her. She stumbled up. The burly boy blinked, clearly still surprised at the very sudden appearance of this girl and her drink now dripping off his big, red face. "Come on," the pinkette said to skinny blonde, putting an arm around her shoulder. The two marched out of the house party. _

_Once outside, the blond haired girl's crying turned to sniffles and she sat down on the middle of the sidewalk. They were far enough from the house to not worry about the brute coming back. The pink haired girl squatted down next to the sniffling girl. _

"_I've b-been with him for a year and h-half," she hiccupped, "and he always does this to me! H-He wants to go to p-parties, s-so I go with him, and…" Tears leaked down her face again, "Then he, he gets wasted and says he doesn't love me! A-And then when I apologize he hits me- and" She began sobbing all over again, then suddenly stopped. "Well, I've had enough!" she exclaimed, her words slurred. "Ya know Pinky? You, you just, just _can't_ stay with that kind of guy, ya know?"_

"_Yeah," said Pinky softly, "I know what you mean." There was a short pause. "By the way, my name's not Pinky. It's Sakura."_

"_Ino," said the blonde, letting out a smile. Sakura returned the smile and the two shook hands. _

* * *

"Can I have a smoke?" asked Sakura, who'd, flopped down on the bed. Ino glanced once at her, and then looked back down at her finished nails. She blew on one hand gently as she used the other hand to reach up and grab the packet of Marlborough's from the top self of her dresser, being careful not to let the top side of her freshly painted nails touch the plastic wrapping. Ino tossed the packet over to Sakura. Both emerald and cerulean eyes watched the packet soar through the air before finally landing in Sakura's out stretched hands.

Her nimble fingers were quick to get out a smoke, and she lit it, using a lighter she found in her pocket. Meanwhile, Ino took out a tiny pink flip phone. She began checking her messages. As she scrolled across one, a smile flashed across her features. "Hey, Sakura?"

"Mm?"

"You bring your fake ID?"

A smile lit up Sakura's features too, and she, quick as a flash, whipped out a little plastic card with her picture on it. "Never leave home without it," she smirked.

* * *

Bright lights flashed blindingly. The music was so loud; Sakura couldn't even tell what was playing. Not like it mattered. At places like this, it didn't matter what music was playing and what kind of guys you were grinding against. It didn't matter what kind of alcohol you put in your system, as long as there was a back alley to throw up at. Here, nothing mattered but just how fucking fast you could get your heart going, and just how low you could go when you danced.

So, she danced.

She brought her arms up over her head and dipped down to the floor, her body fluidly twisting and curving around the other person, whatever other person was on her other side. She felt hands on her hips and something soft on her ass. She began grinding against the other person, his hands going lower, and more towards the front of her body. Both would thrust their pelvises back and forth with the beat, the smell of sweat clogging their noses, and the feel of rough passion clogging their pores.

Sakura was breathing hard when she realized that not one, nor two, but three guys had begun dancing against her, rubbing their hard-on's against her and breathing just as heavy as she was. Men could be animals.

Just as easily as she'd come into the dancing moshpit, she made her way out, weaving through countless people, some dancing more vividly then she was. Quickly she glanced towards the bar, and spotted Ino chatting up some guy, who looked to be about twenty five. Sakura blinked then smiled softly. Usually, Ino would manage to find the most desperate guy in the whole place to hook up with, or some guy in his late thirties. However, it seemed like Ino had found a pretty good catch tonight…. Well, it did happen occasionally. Due to the colorful, flashing lights, Sakura couldn't make out any specific features of this guy. She could tell that he wore a brown jacket, and had short, very red hair. And, he was gorgeous. Ino was laughing loudly at something, and her cheeks were bright pink. The man looked like he couldn't have cared less at whatever she was saying, but he kept his eyes firmly on her.

She hesitated. She didn't want to interrupt but, as she glanced back to the dance floor, she realized she couldn't keep up her heavy dancing. Without another second to waste, she yelled Ino's name over the loud music, and made her way over to the flirty blonde and her companion. Surprisingly, the man looked over first. Their eyes met.

It sent cold shivers down her spine. His eyes looked so cold. Her heart thumped in her chest. She narrowed her eyes, determined not to look away first. Not to let this guy scare her. Ino looked over too, and broke out into a smile.

"Hey!" Ino yelled, and lifted a hand to motion the pink haired girl over. Sakura blinked once, and then let out the smallest of sighs, before making her way over. Even now, staring deep into Ino's cheerful blue eyes, she couldn't shake the image of the red-haired man's dark eyes boring into her. "Hey, babe," she answered Ino, choosing to completely ignore her companion. "Can I have a Bloody Mary?" Sakura asked the bartender. Suddenly she wasn't feeling much of a party girl.

"Hi."

The voice in her ear was much hoarser then she'd expected. For some reason, she'd been expecting a soft, velvety Edward-esque voice. It was sort of husky, and maybe even a little bit strained. Sakura turned her head slightly to face the red haired man. The bartender placed the drink on the surface of the bar none too gently, and left the three alone. For a second Sakura debated whether or not to answer.

_Hi there, Gorgeous._

"Hi," Sakura said frostily. She didn't know why she was being a bitch, but for some reason she didn't feel like being nice to this good-looking stranger. Probably unlike this guy, she was not looking for a one-night stand. She turned the other direction, and prayed he would turn his attention to Ino again. He didn't.

"I haven't seen you here before..."

Sakura, with a sigh, looked at him again, and tossed her pink locks. "Maybe you just haven't been looking."

Ino was silent during this exchange, but had already figured something out. If anyone, it'd be Sakura with the higher chance of getting this gorgeous guy. After all, Ino, though she was so much skinnier then the other girl didn't have the pink hair, or the sparkling green eyes that stood out to so many men. Who wouldn't want to date the more unique one of the two? Pursing her lips, Ino turned her head to the other direction. She didn't want to think jealous thoughts, but sometimes they came on their own. And right now, she didn't really want to watch Sakura effortlessly snag the beautiful man that _she_, Ino, had found. Though, she already had figured out that this would happen no matter what. The blonde, blue eyed girl let out a tiny sigh, before turning to Sakura. The girls' eyes met, exchanging an understanding.

Ino turned to the man with a bounce in her step and a grin on her face. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Gaara! Maybe we'll come across one and other again soon!"

The man looked up, over Sakura's shoulder, where Ino had made her hasty escape. His light green eyes looked back down to meet hers and she blinked. For whatever reason, men were always more attractive to her when they could look her in the eyes with such complete and open honesty, but more so then that, in his eyes were a sense of familiarity that she'd never known.

"Maybe."

Her heart began to thump a little. Sakura looked up at him curiously. "What?" she asked him. He looked down at her again, appearing unfazed, but he took a step back. Really, it was remarkable how cold his eyes were yet how inviting they seemed. She took a step forward. "Wait."

He seemed to be… trying to get away?? What the--!

It was true. The short haired man was taking slow step backs, and his eyes were no longer firmly on Sakura. "I have to go," he said suddenly, and roughly. Sakura's eyes lit up in rage- no way was he just going to up and leave on her, not when she'd just started talking to him. "I said wait! …Don't you listen?" she growled at him angrily, her nose wrinkling in distaste. His eyes met her again, this time though, they were cold and distant.

"How old are you?" His question took her off guard. The green eyed girl blinked in surprise. "Twenty!" she hissed at him, forgetting the legal drinking age was actually twenty-one. He seemed to be able to see through her lie and turned away from her.

"Go home, Sakura."

The pinkette froze. Normally, she would have called out to him or grabbed his arm or something… but…. How did he know her name? She was confident that neither she nor Ino had mentioned her name. He must've known her. But how? He couldn't have been one her parents' friends. She never met any of her parents' friends… after all she wasn't exactly the ideal daughter. Besides, he looked too young for that. Her heart thumped. She knew that she had to get out of here. He could go to hell for all she cared, but if he knew who she really was, he couldn't be anyone good. Besides… why did their conversation seem so familiar to her? She didn't like it.

After taking a step back, Sakura looked both ways, trying to find Ino. The blonde girl was nowhere in sight. She turned back to the red-haired man but he was gone too. She clutched her arms around herself, trying to escape the chill she felt in her heart. The pink haired girl rubbed her arms, trying to make the goose bumps prominent on her skin go away. She closed her eyes and stumbled backwards, racking her memory.

After re-opening her eyes, she finally decided to just leave. She'd text Ino later, and tell her that she'd gotten sick or something. Truth was, right now she just couldn't stay for a reason she just couldn't explain. She felt weird and only half there.

The girl left her drink on the table, and noticing the door to the back alley, escaped this club, with its loud music and heavy perfume of sweat in the air that was giving her a head ache.

Sakura pushed open the door and stumbled out. Her black heels clinked on the uneven pavement and she looked both directions, trying to see which way the street was. She took another step forward, straining her ears to hear any cars or voices. Had she been a little drunker she might not have noticed the sounds coming from her left. It wasn't the sounds of sex…no, that of which Sakura was familiar with. But it was similar. Moans and soft gasps, coming from two people in the shadow to her left. She took a step towards them. Her eyes grew wide and her heart went crazy.

_Thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump, thump-thump. THUMP!_

Breathe. In out, in out. Just like her doctor taught her to do whenever she—

Couldn't think. Had to keep breathing. Breathe. In out. In. Out. But the site in front of her was distracting her from breathing. I-It-it…!

* * *

"Mrs. Haruno, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't know how she's survived this long."

"Well, then we should be grateful, shouldn't we?"

"Well, yes, but at the same time… with secondary cardiac cancer, the percentage of surviving is… not high at all and that's a major understatement. In all honesty… this cancer of Sakura's is generally fatal within two years of diagnoses, as we told you when she was first diagnosed."

"And it's been three years, the longest known case. She's a medical miracle, true?"

"That's true. Secondary cardiac cancer is the result of a spread and metastasis from another region in the body. It's more common then Primary cardiac cancer, but still extremely rare. In a study of 12, 487 Hong Kong autopsies found only 7 of the heart. _Twelve thousand four hundred and eighty seven_. Mrs. Haruno, _people don't survive this._"

There were no voices for about a minute. Then the tired doctor's voice spoke up again.

"Her symptoms have only been getting worse these past three years. Cachexia, finger clubbing, fainting, tachycardia, heart enlargement, fever… Additional heart sounds, and an irregular heartbeat is what she came here with and--"

"Doctor." The mother's voice was crisp. "I know."

That was the end of the conversation. One pair of footsteps echoed down the hall, while the door to the hospital room opened with a small creak. Sakura Haruno's mother peered in. She let out a long sigh before shutting the door softly. Soon, her footsteps followed the doctors down the hall until they were no longer heard.

Sakura Haruno opened her eyes. As she'd gathered from listening in on her mother and doctor's conversation, she was in the hospital. Lying in a white room in a white bed and connected to a bunch of tubes.

She wondered if what she saw that night in the alley was real. She knew it was. She wondered if someone had snuck something in her drink, and she'd been hallucinating. But Sakura knew she was always very careful about that sort of thing, and, well, it was too real to be a hallucination. She wasn't that creative.

It was the red haired man, Gaara, who was there in that alley. In his arms was a gorgeous woman with long chestnut hair. Her murky brown eyes were wide and stared deep and unfocused into Sakura's eyes. Dripping down her neck was something dark scarlet and wet looking. Blood. That wasn't even the worst part. The minute she stumbled out into the alley, Gaara's head whipped up. And she saw it. The blood on his lips.

The blood on his lips. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. The doctors probably had her so drugged up, her sleep would be nice and dreamless, and she wouldn't have to worry about the nightmares. For now.

With that thought in mind, she drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Replies to Reviews:**

**hotredsakura1315****:** You won't find out til the last chapter! (:

**Kallou: **Eh? Hm, I guess it is similar isn't it? ^^;; However, I've only read the first book in that series, so I have no clue if the ending will turn out similar. I sure hope not.

**Itty_Bitty_Aiko:** Well, damn, thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**Tukixoxo:** x3 I'm glad you're enjoying the story?! XD

* * *

**Author's note**

**I'm terribly, terribly sorry for the long wait!! I kept writing then, changing it, then adding more stuff, then erasing that, and rewriting this, to make it the best it could be. So I do apologize. But I do deeply appreciate all the reviews I've been getting. Each one makes me smile =]**

**Meanwhile, if any of you got the Twilight reference, cool beans. Mmmm, foreshadowing, YUM 3**

**P.S.**

**Microsoft Word says the sentence, "Here, nothing mattered but just how fucking fast you could get your heart going…[ect]" was grammatically wrong. The correct grammar is apparently, "Here, nothing mattered but just how fucking you fast could get your heart going…"**

**[X I just wanted to share that with you all. Please review.**


	3. In A Hospital Room

**Dear everyone who has stuck with me so far: Thank you so much. Your reviews keep me going, and every time I see a new review, or an e-mail saying someone has put Soir on story alert, I get really, really happy. So, as a thank you, here's a 14 page chapter:**

**Chapter 2: In A Hospital Room**

The ceiling was bathed soft blue light. Eyes closed, and then re-opened. How long had she been asleep? Her mind felt groggy and her body stiff. There was a horrible aftertaste in her mouth. And the room was bathed in blue.

Sakura breathed in deeply through her nose, trying to get back on her proverbial feet. What happened? Clawing at her chest was an uncertain nagging feeling; she'd forgotten something. Was it important? It was eating away at her.

Trying to ignore that odd feeling of paranoia, Sakura closed her eyes once more, waiting for sleep to come. It didn't. Instead, her body, though it was still stiff with sleep and aching with last night's adventures, would not allow her to fall back into her own dark, dreamless world. It was a feeling she knew well. Last night… what had happened? For the first time, she noticed how her head throbbed. Moving finally, she brought a small white hand to her head, rubbing at her temple with the heel of her palm. Ah… movement felt good. She sat up, slowly, waking up more with every passing second.

Upon first glance, the room would appear to be underwater or something because every surface facing the window was a light shade of blue. Sakura glanced at the window, watching as the moon's light gave everything it touched a weird glow. Everything else was shroud in darkness. The room itself was nothing special, just a normal hospital room. A few chairs on her left, complete with a nightstand with a small lamp, and an IV, heart monitor, plus some curtains on her right. The 15 year old blinked while listening carefully for sounds of other people snoring or breathing. To her relief, there was nothing. The beds on the other side of the curtain must've been empty. Clearly, she'd been put in a group room… which meant her condition was no longer in the danger zone… well, it was always the danger zone for her, but at least she was no longer on the brink of death.

As Sakura looked hard at the pale curtains only a few feet away from her own bed, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. Instantly, her whole attention was brought to the front of the bed. Looking much like the shadows he'd just stepped out of was the handsome, red-headed man from the club. In a flash, it all came back to her, the beating of the too-loud music, the dark and smoke filled ally, the cigarette smoke filling her lungs and those dark, dark red eyes; her heart, pounding so hard in her chest. She blinked again, this time not in a vain attempt to fall back into the land of slumber, but to clear them of any drowsiness left.

And then he was gone. Sakura's mind spun with confusion. He literally just disappeared. What was going on? Again, she noticed movement in the corner of her eye, and, fast enough to get whip lash, turned her head to face him. The stranger was by her side, towering over her, pale fingers dusting her heart rate monitor, as he gazed at it with the contempt Sakura surely thought was meant for her. He switched his cold stare from the machine to the green eyes of a pale face. He leaned down, slowly, slowly, until he was eye to eye with her. Sakura gawked at his light green eyes until he leaned down even more, until all she could see was wisps of red hair on the side of her face, and she could feel his hot breath on her neck. Some sharp and cold indented itself on her neck. Sakura, unable to see the cold, creamy white fangs pressed against her neck, could feel them, as well as the threat that came with them, just fine.

"Stay away from me."

Before the full extent of those words could hit Sakura, he had taken a step back, one hand on a white button. As he pressed down on it, Sakura's eyes grew heavier. Swallowing thickly, the girl blinked, feeling her eyelids like sandpaper against her eyes, and her head aching to fall back onto the pillow. The room tilted.

Had she the strength, Sakura would've cursed. The medication was kicking in already. That was quick… With difficulty, she rubbed her eyes, but even that had little effect. She tried to ignore that and concentrate only on the man, that strange man with his dark red hair. Sakura's hands dropped to her sides, feeling too weak to keep them up any longer.

"Wait," she rasped. Who was he…? Her hesitation upon remembering those bright fangs, their eerie glow only matched by the moon itself, was the key factor at that moment. Perhaps, without her conscience present, she would have been able to ask him not to leave her with such a cryptic message, and instead stay with her, because the last thing she wanted right now was to be alone. However, she never got to ask.

Before she knew it, the battle to keep the medication from taking its toll was lost, as it always was. And then she was gone, her head falling against the soft pillow, her rosy locks splayed out across the surface.

* * *

This was not the first time she'd seen him here. It felt like he was here every night. It felt like only yesterday… but, in reality, Sakura had been stuck in this white-as-snow hospital for the past week and a half. Every night, her dream featured that strange man, and all she could do was watch it play out. Except for last night… before, she'd never have the chance to say anything to him. However, she'd called out to him last night, right before she slipped into unconsciousness… or did she wake up? Can you lose consciousness in a dream? She was beginning to think that this reoccurring dream was not a dream at all. She never had the chance to pinch herself to tell. And the dream itself was so weird; there was no evidence to suggest it was anything but just that: a dream. Yet… there was a lingering feeling in her chest. Why him?

Why was that mystery man from the club lurking around in her dreams? Of course she remembered what had happened after she'd left the club, and she remembered what she ran into in the ally, but why was it haunting her so much? Couldn't she just forget it'd happened? Pretend it didn't? She tried, but it was difficult, when every night all she saw were those red eyes… or, wait, weren't they light green? She couldn't remember. She didn't even know his name. Speaking of names… how did he know hers…?

Sakura groaned, her thoughts spiraling in different directions as her mind was filled with questions; questions she didn't even to where to begin to find the answers to.

"Sakura?"

Sakura looked up at the person at the foot of her bed blankly, her brain still swirling with thoughts of haunting white fangs…

"Sakura!"

The rosette blinked as her mother called her name again in a sharp voice. "Hi Mom," Sakura replied in a small voice. Mrs. Haruno was a small woman, with dyed platinum blonde hair chopped distinctly at her shoulder. She was the type of woman who always seemed to be in a suit, regardless of where she was. Her lips were pursed, per usual, her face strained, and her high cheekbones, which at one point in her life might have been considered attractive, protruded from her face like knives. Wrinkles and sagging skin had aged her face greatly.

"Sakura," the older woman responded in acknowledgement.

* * *

Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.

Baby blues blinked.

_You can do this!_

Another deep breath. This was simple; easy even. It was just walking into a hospital, nothing to fear. Doctors were helpful. Not out to get you. Definitely …Maybe. Ino crossed her boney arms and looked both ways. She was standing right in front of the hospital doors. But crossing the threshold turned out to be harder than she thought. She was so torn.

The blonde teen could either close her eyes and walk in and see her best friend and this over with or she could run away. Even as she thought the words, a great shudder went through her body. The last time she was here—No! There would be no dwelling on that! Not right now! Subconsciously, her hands ghosted over her flat belly, gently brushing against the ribs that weren't so prominent now as they had been a year or two ago.

"What?"

Sakura was in a state of shock. Her mother couldn't possibly be serious… of all the times she'd gotten in trouble, of all the times she'd snuck out, of all the times she'd never given punishment a thought, her parents had never threatened her with this.

Mrs. Haruno held her daughter's awestruck glare with one of her own and remained silent, waiting for the fury and the argument that was sure to come.

"Are you serious?" Sakura's voice was frosty.

Her mother waited a moment to be sure her daughter wasn't going to lash out with a before nodding, the thin line that was her mouth parting to speak.

"Of course."

"Of course," murmured Sakura quietly, but her mother continued on as if she hadn't spoken.

"You've spent the last three years doing whatever you want, _when_ever you want! Enough is enough Sakura! Do you even realize how lucky you are? You don't have to pay any hospital bills, you have expensive clothes, you have been so fortunate to even be alive right now and what do you do? You THROW IT AWAY? You spend all your time DESTROYING whatever is left of your body. Meanwhile your father and I have to shoulder EVERYTHING else!"

Mrs. Haruno had begun to shout, her calm exterior breaking; she was so caught up in the fury she felt towards her daughter. Sakura dropped her gaze, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. How could her mother be so blind? Why couldn't she see what was right in front of her? Pale hands clutched at the bedspread.

Countless replies ran through Sakura's head.

'Stop it.'

'I'm sick, Mom, what else can I do?'

'Please stop yelling at me.'

'You're full of shit.'

'Go away!'

However, she didn't say anything, choosing instead to refuse to acknowledge her mother. Her emerald eyes glared a hole in the off-white bedspread. She knew from experience that replying to this rampaging woman would only worsen the situation. Sakura held back her tears, like she had done so many times before.

* * *

"Hello, miss, how can I help you?"

The receptionist was pretty nice, Ino remarked to herself. Deep down though, she knew it was taking everything she had not to bolt from this place and the receptionist was only a temporary distraction. Taking a deep breath in, the blond haired girl forced herself to nod.

"Yes, please. I'd like to see Sakura Haruno. Can you tell me which room she's in?"

"Lasat name Haruno, first name Sakura…?" replied the receptionist as she turned to type on the computer hidden from view. "Ah, yes, here she is…."

Ino glanced around, the wide, open space of the reception area bothering her. It seemed so empty, and she felt so small and awkward just standing there. Unlike the last time… She hadn't even gotten to see the receptionist's desk… or any other area of the hospital. Except, of course, the room she'd woken up in. All around her, there were doctors, sticking needles in her, pumping nutrients into her body. No… _who turned me in? Why am I here? _She remembered trying to rip her wrist out of the doctor's firm grasp and how it snapped like a twig as a result. She'd remained pretty still after that…

"—Miss? Miss?"

Ino snapped out of her memory, glancing back at the worried receptionist. "I… called you a few times but you didn't answer," the other woman said nervously. Ino felt her cheeks burn a bit and shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Sorry," replied Ino with a cheerful smile, a smile that vanished the second the receptionist had turned her back to look at the computer screen once more.

"Ah, yes, I was saying, you friend's room is right here," she said, her voice confident once more, as she pressed her finger down on a map of the hospital. Ino watched, her mind only half there as the woman calmly highlighted said room, and went about explaining the quickest route to get there. Ino nodded, absentmindedly eying the pink stain on the paper.

The second it left the receptionist's hands and was in Ino's, the blue-eyed girl had rushed away to the nearest elevator, anxious to find her friend as soon as possible.

* * *

Sakura gazed about her simple hospital room, bored as hell. There was nothing to do here… even the stupid TV in the corner of the room couldn't hold her attention for more than a few seconds. She wished she had a book… or a cigarette. Preferably the latter. She sighed, not wanting to go back to sleep really, not until it was night. She tried sleeping during the day, but oddly enough, she hadn't dreamed at all. As a result, she was up all night… and though the room looked exactly the same as the scene from her dreams, the only thing missing was the man. Vampire. That was what he was. Sakura forced herself to think the word, even though she did not want to. She was easily frightened of ghosts, and other superstitions, even though she knew the day was fast approaching when she might become one. But vampires… really, she knew next to nothing about them, never having been a huge fan of Dracula, or any other of those sorts of stories.

"Sakura!"

Said girl looked up again, this being the second time today her name had been called out while she was deep in thought. She blinked once, then again in disbelief as it registered who exactly the girl standing in front of her was. "Ino?"

"The one and only," the other girl replied with a smirk. Sakura wanted to jump out of bed and hug her friend so hard that neither of them could breathe… but she restrained herself. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice full of joy. Ino NEVER went to the hospital. Not even to see Sakura.

Ino shrugged in response, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "Oh, you know, I was in the neighborhood," she said, crossing her boney arms. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Ino," she said slowly. "You hate hospitals."

Ino only shrugged again and pulled up a chair, figuring she might as well sit now that she was here. She looked up at her pink-haired friend once more and felt herself relax into their playful banter. "You were gone for like a month! I got worried!"

Sakura laughed. "More like a week and a half."

Ino waved her hand away, dismissing this. "Whatever. You've been out. And things got boring."

"You're telling me," Sakura replied grimly. "I'm stuck here, in this stupid hospital ALL DAY long with nothing to do. You think you're bored?"

They both laughed, and then the conversation faded, and both were silent.

"Ino," Sakura spoke up, looking her friend in the eye. "Thank you. For coming. I know how you feel about hospitals, ever since…" she trailed off.

Ino replied softly, "Don't worry about it." But her smile was pained, and she was looking at Sakura's bedspread.

Sakura opened her mouth, to change the subject, when Ino burst out, "I don't want you to die!"

Sakura blinked, surprised at Ino's sudden outburst. They never talked about Sakura's unfortunate fate, not if they could help it. Carpe Diem and all that. Not dwelling on the future… or the past. But as Sakura watched her friend begin to cry, she couldn't help but think that the day the two friends had to discuss this had been long coming.

Her face grew pained as her friend continued, light trails of water running down her cheeks. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if you died. You can't! You're my only friend in this world, Sakura! What would I do without you…" Ino's shoulders had begun to shake and Sakura felt the emotion in her chest swell until it burst forth from her eyes.

"You're the only one who truly cares about me. How…How can we j-just pretend that you're not… not sick? That you don't have an expiration date?" she was shouting now, as she sobbed. Sakura, no longer trying to hold back her own sobs, reached out and grabbed her friend's hand, clutching them tightly and bringing them closer to her chest. Both girls cried together, using one and other as a support system, like they'd always done.

Sakura didn't know how long they sat there, holding one and other. But eventually, they let go of one and others hands, and just sat in silence.

"I should go… before your family comes…" said Ino, her voice a little hoarse. Sakura shook her head. "Don't bother. You already missed my mother." The words were said so bitterly, Ino grew curious. "What do you mean…? What happened?"

Sakura sighed, and drew her knees up to her chin. "My mother is imprisoning me in this hospital."

* * *

Review Replies:

kaminariyoru; yeah, it did lmao. i thought it was the funniest thing.

Twisted Musalih; thanks! i'll try!

tukixoxo; yeah i did! :D hahaha, i'm sorry, i'll try to be faster!

Melodi Moon; C: i'm glad you think so. i hope i don't disappoint!

Lady Azura; ...you think? ...Interesting.

midnightsun000; hey, darlin'! and thank you!

Roma88; ...Lady Gaga...? *coughs* Anywayy. Thank and yes. I wanted her to be a medical miricle but i wasn't sure how far exactly to go with it. however, i think that three years was a good time, since you're only supposed to live two years, plus there haven't really been enough cases to really say that two years is the definite time limit. errr even though no one's really lived past that many... haha.. and thank you so much! hearing that really means a lot to me, as an author! next time, sign in with your username, though! Cx

sh; thanks!

**So… It's been a while. Sorry for not posting in forever :/ It seems I've come down with an intense case of not-knowing-what-to-do-next. Don't worry; it's not contagious. But today, I was really sick, and couldn't do much of anything, so I kind of just sat down with my laptop and spent the day writing, planning, and writing some more, until before I knew it, I had a decent grasp on what I wanted to do with this story again. I'm pretty sure I'll finish this story within the next two chapters, since it was supposed to be a one shot after all, three chapters at max. Again… I'm really sorry for taking this long to update… and I'll try to update again soon… but haha, you know how well that has worked out so far. Thank you for sticking with me so far…**


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